The impact of maternal insecurity on child social-emotional competence among Syrian refugees in Jordan: Findings from the FIERCE project

Syrians constitute the largest percentage of the world’s refugee population (UNHCR, 2021a). After 11 years, the conflict is still ongoing, forcing millions of civilians to flee Syria. The majority find refuge in neighbouring countries, such as Jordan. While the effects of conflict and war trauma have received much attention from the scientific community, researchers and clinicians have overlooked the stressors that Syrians face following displacement (Miller & Rasmussen, 2017). A growing body of research has shown that the impact of post-displacement stressors on mental health can equal or exceed the effects of war exposure (Miller & Jordans, 2016). The present study aims to investigate the impact of post-displacement stressors in children’s social-emotional competence. In a sample of 169 Syrian mothers and their 4-8-year-old children displaced in Jordan, we investigate the association between maternal insecurity and child social-emotional competence, measured by self-concept and empathy. In particular, we examine whether the quality of mother-child interaction mediates this relationship and whether maternal self-efficacy moderates the relationship between mothers’ insecurity and the quality of mother-child interaction. To answer this study’s research questions, we analyse data from the Family Intervention for Empowerment through Reading and Education (FIERCE) project. This is a longitudinal project conducted in the capital of Jordan, Amman, and Za’atari, the country’s largest Syrian refugee camp. The data analysed in this study were collected through direct assessment, survey, and two observational tasks: a reading activity and a free-play activity. The current thesis comprises five chapters. The first chapter introduces the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan, focusing on the post-displacement stressors that most families experience and their adverse effects on parental and child well-being. The second chapter presents the Ecological Model of Refugees Distress by Miller and Rasmussen (2017) and reviews the literature on parenting and parent-child interactions following displacement. The construct of socio-emotional competence is then introduced, focusing on empathy and self-concept and how parenting shapes these aspects. The third chapter describes the current study, outlining the research questions, procedure, and analytic plan. Results are then described in the fourth chapter and discussed in the final chapter, together with the study limitations and implications for future research.